Conventional Information Systems need huge capital spending, and months (if not years) of exhaustive planning. Sadly as much as 7 out of every 10 IT projects fail (1), and in Britain big government- backed systems for the NHS, The Fire service, the DVLA, the Office of Environment, and the Ministry of Defence, and others have wasted more than ?26 bln in recent years (2). With the current depressed economic environment, it is not surprising that most firms (and families) are avoiding expenditure on all but the most necessary items. In the IT world, this sometimes means that thoughts of replenishing insufficient systems and infrastructure are delayed, or inferior solutions adopted. Whereas in Asia confidence and growth are booming (on the back of hard work and lower costs), in the West the power and influence of our economies is diminishing as our risk-aversion and costs rise. A new approach is needed.
Regardless of the "dot-com boom and bust" of the year 2000, we are now experiencing a new renaissance in the world of the Inter-Web. Forget the consumer sandboxes of FaceBook and YouTube, the most recent trend in business is a move away from localised monolithic IT systems to virtualisation and computing in the "cloud".
So first of all, what is "cloud computing" ? At one level, it essentially means the PC hardware no longer sits on your servers inside your office, but is now residing somewhere "out there" in a server farm run by a 3rd party. We no longer have to get and maintain the technology in-house, but instead we hire space from experts who can supply much higher levels of support, availability, trustworthiness and performance that may grow (or shrink) according to our wishes. Likewise, with the software that runs on this technology, there's a shift from of making an investment in large capital spending projects, to renting "Software as a Service" (SaaS) from consultants who can provide as little or as much functionality and support as is needed by your business " right now. This is significant, for the longer we have to spend brooding about and planning for future needs and capacities, the more cash that is lost on pricey consultants and designers, with nothing of benefit to show for the cash!
So what are the features of cloud computing which make it an attractive proposition for business?
Speed and simplicity of deployment. All that you need is a PC with web access, and you can plugin and go. No step up programs. No compatibility issues (providing your browser is up-to-date).
Flexible size. If your business expands and requires more processing capacity, it is simple to go ahead dial-up more computing juice to any degree required.
Global and Mobile reach. Any one in your organisation can immediately access the service, and via the Net share info with one another. You can control and secure everyone's access so that information is restricted to just individuals who need it. Staff who are on the move can have browser access to the central db and documents. Indeed with the storage and computing power available now on NetBooks, tablets, and PDAs it is simple use these mobile devices "offline" and to sync with the centralized database when connectivity is available once more.
Disaster Resilience. Your most important office may be flooded, but your staff can still continue to telecommute. Their workstation may have crashed, but since key information is secured in a central database, the user can simply move to another workstation and keep working.
Strategic alignment. IT systems are heading away from plain record keeping and automation of base administration, to facilitate the strategic development of a business. Employees not only communicate within their teams, but also with the planners, strategists, administrators, and policy makers in the enterprise.
Enterprise Scorecard is a new, cloud-based software service that permits businesses to operate their core management systems from the cloud. It shares many of the features of Google applications and Microsoft SharePoint, but it takes this a level up and offers a speedily employed andcustomisablebusiness database and mobile data collection service. Available either as an internal business portal, or as a regular subscription service, it supports ISO standards for Quality, Environmental, Security, and Health & Safety Management systems.
Regardless of the "dot-com boom and bust" of the year 2000, we are now experiencing a new renaissance in the world of the Inter-Web. Forget the consumer sandboxes of FaceBook and YouTube, the most recent trend in business is a move away from localised monolithic IT systems to virtualisation and computing in the "cloud".
So first of all, what is "cloud computing" ? At one level, it essentially means the PC hardware no longer sits on your servers inside your office, but is now residing somewhere "out there" in a server farm run by a 3rd party. We no longer have to get and maintain the technology in-house, but instead we hire space from experts who can supply much higher levels of support, availability, trustworthiness and performance that may grow (or shrink) according to our wishes. Likewise, with the software that runs on this technology, there's a shift from of making an investment in large capital spending projects, to renting "Software as a Service" (SaaS) from consultants who can provide as little or as much functionality and support as is needed by your business " right now. This is significant, for the longer we have to spend brooding about and planning for future needs and capacities, the more cash that is lost on pricey consultants and designers, with nothing of benefit to show for the cash!
So what are the features of cloud computing which make it an attractive proposition for business?
Speed and simplicity of deployment. All that you need is a PC with web access, and you can plugin and go. No step up programs. No compatibility issues (providing your browser is up-to-date).
Flexible size. If your business expands and requires more processing capacity, it is simple to go ahead dial-up more computing juice to any degree required.
Global and Mobile reach. Any one in your organisation can immediately access the service, and via the Net share info with one another. You can control and secure everyone's access so that information is restricted to just individuals who need it. Staff who are on the move can have browser access to the central db and documents. Indeed with the storage and computing power available now on NetBooks, tablets, and PDAs it is simple use these mobile devices "offline" and to sync with the centralized database when connectivity is available once more.
Disaster Resilience. Your most important office may be flooded, but your staff can still continue to telecommute. Their workstation may have crashed, but since key information is secured in a central database, the user can simply move to another workstation and keep working.
Strategic alignment. IT systems are heading away from plain record keeping and automation of base administration, to facilitate the strategic development of a business. Employees not only communicate within their teams, but also with the planners, strategists, administrators, and policy makers in the enterprise.
Enterprise Scorecard is a new, cloud-based software service that permits businesses to operate their core management systems from the cloud. It shares many of the features of Google applications and Microsoft SharePoint, but it takes this a level up and offers a speedily employed andcustomisablebusiness database and mobile data collection service. Available either as an internal business portal, or as a regular subscription service, it supports ISO standards for Quality, Environmental, Security, and Health & Safety Management systems.
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For more in-depth info on Corporation Scorecard and cloud computing see www.EnterpriseScorecard.net.
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